I’d failed miserably as a daughter. I knew my parents died in a car ident, but I didn’t know a


    single detail about what happened that day.


    Lindey’s expression shifted, and she gently grabbed my wrist. “Rea, we agreed not to talk about this


    anymore. It’s in the past.”


    “I’m not a kid anymore. I can handle it. Please, just tell me,” I said, squeezing her hand back.


    Her hand trembled slightly. “It’s over. Why bring it up again?”


    I stayed quiet for a few seconds. “Lindey, they were my parents. The only family I had.”


    My parents grew up in an orphanage, and when they were gone, I became an orphan too.


    Maybe my words got through to her. After a long pause, Lindey finally spoke. “When Matthew and I


    got to the crash site, your mother was already gone. Your father was barely hanging on. He grabbed


    Matthew’s hand and could only say your name…”


    Lindey choked up and stopped, and I felt a lump in my throat too.


    It was like ripping open an old wound, and now I understood why Lindey had been so reluctant to


    talk about it. She didn’t want to hurt me.


    “We knew he was worried about you, that he was asking us to take care of you,” Lindey murmured.


    Seeing her so upset made me feel even worse, but I didn’t bring this up to drown in sadness.


    Pushing past the ache in my heart, I pressed on, “What exactly happened in the ident? Was it a


    collision with another car, or something else?”


    Lindey let out a soft sigh. “Their car rear–ended arge tanker truck.”


    A memory of a crash scene I’d seen in a phone video shed in my mind. My heart clenched, and


    my breath caught. “Was there an issue with the brakes?”


    Lindey’s lips parted slightly. “I’m not really sure. The driver died on the spot, and the car was


    completely totaled. As for the cause, we don’t really know.”


    “Does Matthew know?” I asked, remembering how upset he’d gotten thest time I’d brought this


    up.


    “This…” Lindey hesitated again.


    “Lindey, please, just tell me,” I pleaded, my voice cracking.


    N?velDrama.Org owns this.


    She raised her hand and gently touched my face. “Rea, they’re gone. What’s the point of digging


    into this?”


    Her reluctance to give me a straight answer only made my anxiety spike. “Is there something you’re


    not telling me?”


    Seeing how distressed I was, she sighed. “It seemed… there was an issue with the brakes.”


    “Didn’t the driver check them?” I asked, struggling to stay calm.


    Lindey squeezed my hand gently. “Rea, the driver died too.”


    t


    So, with him gone, there was no way to know who was really at fault.


    And Hayden’s father was my dad’s driver…


    *Rea, please, let’s not talk about this anymore. Come, eat something.” Lindey said, trying to steer


    the conversation away.


    But how was I supposed to eat now? My stomach was in knots.


    I remembered that Hayden had been looking into his father’s death too, which meant it couldn’t


    have been his father’s fault.


    Maybe it had something to do with the contract my dad was about to sign. I nced at Lindey and


    decided to take a shot. “Do you know if my parents were nning to start a business before the


    ident?


    She was just about to pass me some food when her hand suddenly shook, and the dish slipped


    from her cutlery.


    I looked at her, noticing the goosebumps spreading across her arms.


    Something was definitely off. My heart sank, and a chill crept up my spine. “Lindey…”